Gender Roles In Target

Are toy sections in stores specified to a specific gender? The store that I visited was Target. They had toys for a variety of children for instance, toddlers, boys, and girls. However, the toy section wasn’t conjoined; in fact, it was separated by gender. The toy section in Target has a visible gender line between the toys. The one thing that made it specified to a specific gender was the colors. The girl’s side had colors of pinks and purples. The boy’s side had colors of black, gray, and blue. In addition, both the girls’ side and boys’ side had gender packaging on the items displayed. The toys were also aimed towards a specific gender. The girl section seemed to have a majority of dolls, dresses, and easy bake ovens. Possibly because in society females are supposed to stay at home and cook as well as clean. Even at a young age they are indirectly showing young girls this is the role they play in …show more content…
However, I mainly saw these gender roles on the girl side. The product that displayed adult occupations was Barbie. The Barbie’s were dressed in all occupations imaginable. For instance, Doctor, Pilot, and Police Officer. This seemed to be the most positive product they had. It shows young girls’ that they can be anything they want. Subsequently, the boy side didn’t have any gender role product. The observation that I conducted of Targets toy section is that the toys are a reflection of society. They make the girl toys feminine and focused on female roles in society. For instance, the dresses and the household appliance you can purchase to pretend to cook. On the other hand, the boy side had masculine items. For example, a wrestler, super hero, and Hot Wheels. These messages disagree with my views on gender because I believe that boys and girls should be equal. They should be able to share the same toys. It should be okay for girls to play with action figures and boys to play with